Kwale based Australian mining firm Base Titanium has launched community empowerment programmes in the coastal county from where they operate.
The community empowerment programmes targeting youth, women and persons with disabilities (PWD) is geared towards creating entrepreneurial opportunities through the acquisition of various vocational skills.
Base Titanium External Affairs General Manager (GM) Mr. Simon Wall said community groups are being offered start-up kits for various income-generating activities including events management such as hiring of tents, chairs, cooking wares and utensils, poultry rearing, crop farming, beekeeping among other business ventures.
Wall was speaking at the Base Titanium community information centre when launching the mining company’s groups’ empowerment programme. The event was attended by area Deputy Governor Mr. Chirema Kombo and Kwale Woman Representative Ms. Fatuma Masito.
“The aim has always been to improve living standards of the community and create business and programmes that will outlast the Kwale mines life,” said Wall.
The top mining officer said the mining firm has also sponsored 100 youth from 25 villages neighboring the mine site to undergo training at various Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.
This is the third cohort of the Community Youth Skills Training Programme which was started last year to support youth to acquire skills in various fields including engineering, carpentry and joinery, refrigeration and air conditioning, welding, masonry, mechanics, electrical, plumbing, tailoring and dressmaking, catering, hairdressing and beauty among other trades.
The youth were handed tools and equipment by Base Titanium that will support them in their training. The sponsorship covers tuition fees, tools and equipment and mentorship.
Wall said the vocational skills empowerment programme seeks to reduce the high rate of youth unemployment in the coastal county.
“All these initiatives form part of our commitment to harness the full potentials of youth, women and persons with disabilities for socioeconomic development,” he said.
Recently the youth empowerment program saw the graduation of 43 local youth, the first cohort of the youth empowerment and entrepreneurial training programme while a further 75 youth are currently receiving vocational training on different skills.
The skills development and empowerment training seeks to bring out entrepreneurial qualities in the youth.
Deputy Governor Chirema Kombo hailed the mining company for partnering with the devolved government in the empowerment of youth and women and marginalized groups in the society.
Kombo said the training program will help unlock the potential of the local youth and women for greater social economic benefits and restore their sense of belonging.
He said empowering women, youth and PWDs means giving them the power and resources necessary to become independent and equal members of society.
“We are delighted to welcome on board Base Titanium which has been at the forefront of addressing youth unemployment challenges in the coastal region,” he said.
Kombo urged the beneficiaries of the livelihood empowerment projects to seize the opportunities the mining firm presented to build themselves economically.
He said the devolved unit recognizes the vulnerability of women, youth and PWDs in the county and was determined to improve their welfare and livelihoods through ambitious empowerment programmes.
Meanwhile, Wall lauded Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs, Mr. Salim Mvurya, on the recent partial lifting of the 4-year moratorium on the issuance of prospecting and mining licenses.
He said the government’s lifting of the ban on the issuance of mining licenses was an extremely positive step for the future development of Kenya’s mining sector.
Wall said the lifting of the moratorium on mining licenses will pave the way for explorations and possible expansion of the mining company’s operations in the country.
The freeze on issuance of licenses was put in place in 2019 to pave way for the large-scale mapping of the country’s mineral deposits.
The government soon after embarked on large-scale minerals and extractive resource mapping across the country to help in identifying the location and size of new mineral deposits.
The mineral resource mapping is expected to attract new exploration companies to locate strategic mineral deposits that are considered commercially viable and increase revenue from a potentially lucrative mining industry.
Deposits of rare minerals found in the country include coal, gypsum, fluorspar, rubies, Zircon gemstone, gold, sapphires, silver, titanium, and manganese as well as gas reserves.
Base Titanium owns and manages Kwale Sand Operations, a high-grade mineral sands mine that started operations in 2013.
The Kwale Operation features a high-grade ore body with a high-value mineral assemblage, rich in rutile, ilmenite and zircon which are all considered critical minerals.
By Hussein Abdullahi
